Can Energy Drinks Boost Sports Performance?

Can Energy Drinks Boost Sports Performance? (0:57)

Energy drinks can give you a small boost when you’re playing sports, but they’re not the best choice for most athletes. Watch this video to learn what drinks registered dietitian Samantha Heller recommends you down before you pick up a ball.

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Are energy drinks helpful before you go to the gym and work out? You know they might be, they do have caffeine and they will give you that boost of energy, but unless you're an elite athlete and you're really trying to shave off that last millisecond of time I don't think you really need to drink them, certainly the ones that have sugar is unnecessary calories.

What you can do is think about sports drinks. If you're working out for more that an hour, or your work outs are very intensive, then a sports drink that has some carbohydrate that also replenishes your electrolytes, some sodium or potassium is a good idea. If you're going to the gym and you're doing maybe a spinning class, or a zhumba class and then you're going home after and having dinner then you don't really need a sports drink, but you do want to stay hydrated before, during and after all of your work outs, and remember you have to hydrate throughout the whole day not just during the work out.